Sos Racismo has presented its annual report on Racism in the Spanish State in 2024. In the document 569 racist acts are collected throughout the country during the past year, in which the majority are related to racist conflicts and aggressions, institutional racism and cases of denial of access to benefits, public services, labor discrimination or private services.
In the majority of cases (in 40%), the complaints come from racialized people in a regular administrative situation, while 37% were filed by people in an irregular situation and 23% by nationals of the European Union. The report argues that "discrimination is not limited by migratory status", but that racialization is the "primary" element of these acts.
By nationality, the SOS RACISMO collective in 2022 received more complaints from people nationalized in South America (194 complaints) and citizens of the Maghreb (154). To this are added nationals from sub-Saharan Africa and North and Central America.
Even so, at the beginning of the text, its author Elena Stasi states that many victims of racism, discrimination and xenophobia do not report, which "creates a gap between the discrimination suffered by the population and the complaints filed."
"The registered complaints do not reflect all racist incidents," she indicates, "in fact, it constitutes only a minimal infraction, and more than 87% of those affected do not file a complaint."
In addition, some of the reasons that lead to not reporting are that racist acts are perceived as "something normalized", added to "the lack of trust" in police and judicial authorities, fear of retaliation, the perception that "nothing is going to change", the vulnerability of some complainants or the feeling of shame.
Added to this is that since the Federation does not have a presence throughout the State, it has had to rely on other local organizations and that "most of the complaints have been anonymous."
The situation of racialized minors
Of the 569 complaints, 5% were filed by minors. The report states that this situation reflects the impact of these experiences on "the development of children, especially in juvenile centers and schools, where discrimination can manifest itself in various ways."
Thus, it exposes "the presence of discrimination through cases of bullying among minors, where they may suffer harassment based on their ethnic, racial origin or for being considered different." In these cases, despite the fact that minors identify racism, the report states that "the school does not consider it bullying" which can translate into "a lack of action and support" for children.
Already in the 2022 report, SOS Racismo warned that also in juvenile centers around the country "complaints related to living conditions have been registered." In addition to "differentiated treatment, stigmatization and lack of adequate resources to guarantee their well-being." Even on occasions some young people are "unfairly associated with youth gangs," pushing them to "discrimination and criminalization."
Meanwhile, in educational centers "violence and discrimination" committed by other young people have been reported, through verbal violence, such as insults, taunts, racist comments, contempt or raised tone, physical violence and exclusion.
The document dedicates a space in its 36 pages to emphasize that with these situations "the respect and dignity of these children and young people could be destroyed, which would have a direct impact on their self-esteem and academic performance. Constant exposure to discrimination and harassment can create a hostile and inhospitable environment in which minors feel insecure and devalued. This not only affects their personal and emotional development, but can also have long-term repercussions on their educational success and professional future."
The discrimination of institutions
At this point, 34% of the reported cases were caused by a public entity. Institutional racism includes "practices, policies and norms adopted by institutions or governmental entities" that are the result of the "systematic discrimination or exclusion of people or groups due to their racialization or ethnicity."
Of the 215 cases of institutional racism reported throughout 2023, the majority of them (83%) correspond to "police racism." Sos Racismo warns that "police abuse is present in our society in an alarming way" and that behind the headlines in the press, "there are stories of people who have denounced injustices, humiliations and discrimination at the hands of those who should protect them."
Added to this are cases related to racist conflict and aggressions, which account for 19% of the complaints, and include situations of violence or confrontations motivated by prejudices, speeches, acts and racial behaviors. Also 14% of cases of racism caused by private entities, which includes non-governmental organizations and other actors in the sector and 13% of cases of denial of access to benefits and public services.
It also concentrates labor discrimination (11%), where "situations in which people are treated unfavorably and unfairly" are generated
In these cases, discrimination translates into "violence or confrontations" motivated by "prejudices, speeches, acts and racial behaviors", as well as the denial of access to public or private services for the same reason.
To these cases are also added hate speeches motivated by the extreme right as "a form of racial discrimination", as well as cases of conflicts with public and/or private security.
